That Makes One of Us
by K. A. Carlyle
Summary: Merlin's having a really bad day. A bad day only made worse by ancient dragons and annoying princes, who seem to live just to watch him twitch. One-shot. T for incredibly mild language.


Merlin was having a really bad day.

He made an executive decision that such was the case with _this_ day, even more so than any other.

To start off, he'd used his supposed "wisdom" to wisecrack to Arthur that morning, which had ended with the prince throwing a silver cup at his head.

Which had really hurt. Even now, Merlin was rubbing the bruise on his temple.

Then, Gaius had misplaced a vial in his storeroom, which Merlin had then had to search the entire collection of shelves and boxes for, only for the old physician had been sitting right next to it the entire time.

After running errands for Gaius all afternoon, Merlin found himself back in his room, pounding his head against the wall repeatedly as a voice began to echo in his head. _Merlin...Merlin! You promised, Merlin. You promised to set me free. Merlin!_

Unwilling to deal with Uther's pet at the moment, Merlin instead went to the loose floorboard under his bed, shifting it to reveal a weathered old book. He stood, holding the book in his hands, and blew the thick coating of dust from the front cover. It wasn't that he hadn't used the book in a long time; it just seemed to gather dust in hours' time. It was, after all, a magical object.

"Merlin! What are you doing?"

"Ah!" Merlin let out a startled sound, stumbling back a step as his arm jerked in surprise. The book was knocked off-balance, and Merlin found himself fumbling with the object for several long seconds before it fell to the floor with a loud thump. Almost spastically, he kicked it under his bed, hoping to hide it from his visitor. As he looked up, he met a very angry pair of grey eyes.

"Arthur!" Merlin all but yelped, jumping slightly. His skin crawled with embarrassment. "What are you doing h-?"

"Where the _hell _have you been?" Arthur demanded, ignoring him. Merlin's mouth opened and closed, bearing a striking resemblance to a gaping fish.

"Well, _here-_"

Arthur frowned. "That's what I thought. You were reading and sleeping and doing whatever the hell else you _do_ when I'm not around, rather than your job. You've been missing all day. You have _responsibilities, _Merlin. You may not be trying to train to _lead the kingdom_ one day, but that doesn't mean you can just blow them off."

_He's right, young warlock,_ the voice echoed in his head. _You have responsibilities. You need to keep your promises and fulfill your duties._

That's when Merlin snapped.

"Shut up! I can't do everything!"

Arthur raised an eyebrow.

"I-er-that's not what I meant, at all-I mean, not to _you-"_

Merlin swallowed hard as Arthur bent to grab the book from under his bed. His relief when Arthur threw the book at his head rather than reading it lasted for only a second, until the pain in his skull came back.

"Ow!" Merlin's hand snapped up to his head, his face scrunching up in pain. "Look, I'm sor-"

"No, I understand _completely!_" Arthur announced, a little over-enthusiastically. Merlin noted the guise immediately, but didn't expect it when Arthur grabbed hold of one of his ears and began to drag him from the room.

"Well, I won't make you do _everything_, Merlin, but let's see how you do with mucking out the stables for the rest of the week, for a start." Arthur grinned, in spite of himself, as Merlin twitched in pain, dragged by the ear from the room.

"Gah! Slow down!"

Arthur hardly paused, slowing only as he passed Gaius in the doorway.

"Prince Arthur! Can I help you with something?" The old physician asked, surprised.

Arthur shook his head, tugging Merlin along behind him, none too gently. He continued to walk past. "Thank you, Gaius," he sneered slightly, "but I think I've found what I need."

Merlin staggered along after, glaring at Gaius through mutinous eyes.

Arthur seemed fairly content with the annoyance he was causing his servant. "I'm actually starting to have a pretty good day, Merlin," he announced, as if the warlock cared.

Merlin's face twitched in pain. "That makes one of us..."


End file.
